Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday for questioning in connection with the liquor excise policy case. This is the fifth summon sent to Arvind Kejriwal; he was first summoned on November 2, followed by December 21, January 3, and January 13.
Should he not appear as summoned, the probe agency can move the court for an arrest warrant.
The Aam Aadmi Party boss had skipped the first four calls citing various prior commitments, including a 10-day meditation retreat, and allegations the agency’s calls were “illegal” and designed to arrest him less than three months before a general election. Last month, after the third summons, he slammed the agency’s actions as “politically motivated” and “illegal”.
He skipped the first summons because he was campaigning for the Madhya Pradesh election.
Earlier this month, after getting his fourth call, Mr Kejriwal and the AAP asked the ED why the Chief Minister had been called if he has not, so far, been named as an accused in the case. “This is being done to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. ED has said Kejriwal is not an accused… then why were summons issued to him,” the AAP had said.
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Sources have told NDTV Mr Kejriwal is due in Chandigarh tomorrow (Thursday) to protest the alleged rigging of the Union Territory’s mayoral election. The AAP had allied with the Congress (both are part of the INDIA bloc) and had, on paper, the votes to defeat the BJP. However, the invalidation of eight AAP votes by the presiding officer has triggered a row.
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Mr Kejriwal was earlier questioned in this case – for nine hours – by the Central Bureau of Investigation; this was in April last year. He had not, however, been made an accused in the case. “CBI asked me total of 56 questions. Everything is fake. Case is fake. I am convinced they don’t have anything on us, not a single piece of evidence,” he said then.
Two senior members of his government, including his ex-deputy, Manish Sisodia have been arrested so far. Mr Sisodia was arrested in February last year and party MP Sanjay Singh in October. Both are currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
On Sunday Mr Sisodia moved the court seeking regular bail and time to meet his ailing wife every week.
The Delhi liquor case refers to allegations the AAP government’s revamped alcohol sales policy of 2022 allowed it to receive crores in kickbacks from cartels, and that this money was channelled into funding election expenses in Goa and other states.
Specifically, both the ED and the CBI have alleged the policy allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who paid bribes for liquor sale licenses.
NDTV Explains | What Is Delhi Liquor Policy Case Linked To Kejriwal’s AAP
The AAP has strongly refuted all charges. The Delhi government reported a 27 per cent increase in income from the policy and generated Rs 8,900 crore in revenue. The party has also accused rivals Bharatiya Janata Party – in power at the centre – of manipulating the central agency to target it.
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